The Mor-Gan the merrier: Crabs battery of McCasland, Nelson lead way in Humboldt's 10-1 whooping of Auburn Wildcats

ARCATA &GT;&GT; Crabs starting pitcher Andrew Nelson would be the first one to tell you that it takes him a couple of innings to truly find his comfort zone on the mound.

That wasn't the case against the Auburn Wildcats.

Instead, Nelson came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders.

The left-hander from Arcata opened another weekend series with a strong outing, going a season-high seven innings. He received plenty of early run support from his offense in the Crabs' 10-1 win over the Wildcats at the Arcata Ball Park on Friday night.

"That's probably the best I've felt in a long time," said Nelson, who has won all of his four starts and has a 1.08 ERA this season. "I felt really good out there. I felt comfortable with all three of my pitches."

Nelson's batterymate, catcher Morgan McCasland, led the way offensively for the Crabs, driving in four runs in the victory. First baseman Alex Crosby drove in three more — including a two-run double to the 394-foot sign in left-center in the fourth inning — for Humboldt, which finished the game with 13 hits against Auburn.

McCasland, who was swinging the bat as well as anybody the first week of the season but has cooled off considerably since then, brought in the game's first two runs with a double into the left field corner to score Crosby and center fielder Kyle Moses.

"I definitely fell into a slump. I'm still not seeing the ball all that well, but sometimes that's just baseball and you have to fight through it," McCasland said.

Left fielder Taylor Tempel sent a sac fly to right to score McCasland and give the Crabs a 3-0 lead in the first inning.

The Crabs scored a single run in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by Moses, and then three more in the fourth to take a commanding 7-0 lead.

And as they've proven this season, when they have a lead early, they win. Humboldt improved to 7-0 when it leads after three innings.

"It's important for us," Crabs manager Tyson Fisher said in regard to his team getting out to an early lead. "Nobody likes to be fighting from behind. I think with this team being a little younger than normal, (having an early lead) allows us to play relaxed."

The early lead proved to be plenty for Nelson, who has now gone at least six innings in each start this summer. He allowed just four hits while striking out eight batters in seven innings. The lone run he gave up was a two-out solo home run to Auburn DH David Campbell that landed in front of Arcata City Hall in the sixth inning.

"He's solid, consistent," Fisher said. "We were talking after he came out of the game about what his expectations were coming into the season and if he thought he would be the Friday night guy ... He's filled that role and he's been what we need in a Friday night starter."

And when Nelson needed his defense to back him up, they definitely did.

Moses — who also had two hits at the plate Friday night — made a diving catch in right-center field to begin the third inning.

The very next inning, the Crabs' defense shined even brighter.

After a double by Jordan Bachart got over Tempel's head in left, he took the bounce off the wall and then fired it to cutoff man Trent Goodrich. Humboldt's shortstop then fired it to McCasland, who applied the tag on Dom Iero to complete the perfectly executed relay.

Two batters later, the Crabs caught Bachart trying to score at home, as McCasland tagged him out in a rundown.

"Both plays in the fourth, I was kind of expecting a run to score," Nelson said. "There's no better feeling when your defense gets an out at home like that. It's such a confidence boost."

The Crabs (9-5 on the season) look to win their third straight game tonight when they continue their three-game series against the Wildcats. First pitch at the Arcata Ball Park is scheduled for 7 p.m.

"We're starting to figure it out," McCasland said. "We started the year as a bunch of guys who never played together before coming from different programs. But now we're starting to know how each other plays."